On May 4, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) cited three companies, Call-Em-All LLC (Call-Em-All), Ifonoclast Inc. (Ifonoclast) and M.J. Ross Group Inc. (M.J. Ross) (Ifonoclast and M.J. Ross conduct business as Phonevite and PoliticalRobocalls.com), for their unwanted robocalls, threatening statutory fines of up to $16,000 per violation if the violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) don’t cease. All three companies made robocalls to consumers’ cell phones using both autodialers and prerecorded messages without first obtaining prior express consent from the consumers as is required by the TCPA. Each company was provided 30 days to respond to the FCC’s citation.
Call-Em-All supplies its clients with a robocalling service wherein it sends prerecorded messages to its clients. Call-Em-All’s clients include employment staffing firms; nonprofits such as schools, churches and sports leagues; and clients with political or commercial messages. Call-Em-All was previously investigated by the FCC back in 2012. Phonevite and PoliticalRobocalls.com offer services similar to that of Call-Em, and were also questioned by the FCC in 2012 for its questionable telemarketing practices and potential violations of the TCPA. Owner of PoliticalRobocalls.com, Moses Ross, said, “This effort by the FCC, I’m sure, is clearing out bad apples from the industry, so in that sense, I applaud it.” We will keep you updated on these companies’ response to the FCC’s citation and the actions they each take within the next 30 days.